His Royal Highness Prince Joachim was no more than nine years old when he was given Schackenborg Castle by Hans Schack. Today, Prince Joachim and Princess Marie and their children use Schackenborg Castle as the family's second home.
The Royal family
Prince Joachim and Princess Marie's second home
The gift to Prince Joachim
Schackenborg and the Royal Palace are closely connected - both historically and today. For many years - before Hans Schack built Schackenborg - the area and the old Møgeltønder house were royal fiefdoms, and the bond between the Schack family and the royal house was also a common thread in centuries of history. Therefore, it is by no means a coincidence that Schackenborg returned to the royal house when the last Schack at Schackenborg, Viscount Hans Schack 6th and his wife Countess Karin, chose to hand over the castle and land holdings to Prince Joachim. The Viscount couple were childless, and in the mid-1970s the idea of handing over the castle to Prince Joachim was made public, but it was not confirmed until 1978, when the prince was nine years old.
Prince Joachim spent many moments at Schackenborg during his childhood and youth, where among other things he got to know every nook and cranny of the castle and was handed over the many stories and history of the castle.
Prince Joachim moved into Schackenborg in 1993. Before then, he had trained as a farmer and agricultural economist, so he was ready to take over Schackenborg's large and modern agriculture. Prince Joachim came up with lots of courage and ideas and took the initiative for many innovative projects such as The five farms, meat production, production of high-quality raw materials and Christmas trees.
Although Schackenborg is a cultural-historical pearl and one of South Jutland's few castles, over the years it had struggled with maintenance, and when Prince Joachim took over Schackenborg, the old castle needed a loving hand.
In connection with the marriage between Prince Joachim and Princess Alexandra in 1995, the couple received a gift from the people earmarked for a thorough renovation of Schackenborg's exterior in particular. The first major project was to re-establish Schackenborg's main axis. The work was inspired by a door piece in the castle showing the entire facility around 1760. The beautiful baroque facility appeared with two axes crossing each other at right angles, and with the extensive restoration of the main axis, Schackenborg returned to this expression. The re-establishment included i.a. the entire park facility, renovation of the south bridge by the gatehouse and construction of a new bridge by the access road from the east.
Schackenborg's outer walls also received a necessary and much-needed boost with the Folkegaven. The facade was repaired and the roofs were reshaped. The renovation of the roofs in particular was a very large project, which included included the bricking of chimneys as well as the removal and restoration of dormers. The old gatehouse also underwent extensive restoration.
The south wing of the beautiful castle is set up as a private residence for the princely couple and their family, so you should not be surprised if you see members of the royal family when you visit Schackenborg.
Photo: Steen Brogaard – The Royal House
Royal blood
A castle with royal residents
Prince Joachim has lived permanently at Schackenborg for 21 years, and Schackenborg runs in the prince's blood. He is an expert in Schackenborg's history, which today would be difficult to tell without his knowledge and insight. The prince knows every corner, every portrait, every treasure and all the good stories behind Schackenborg.
In 2014, Prince Joachim and Princess Marie together with their children decided to move to Copenhagen and then lived in Paris, where as part of his long-term commitment to the armed forces, Prince Joachim began the highest military training course in France. After their completion, both the prince and princess were sent as defense attache and special envoy for culture respectively to the Danish embassy in Paris. On 1 September 2023, His Royal Highness Prince Joachim took up a new position in the Ministry of Defense as defense industry attaché at the Danish embassy in Washington DC, where in the coming years the prince will contribute as Denmark's representative to strengthening defense industry cooperation with the USA and Canada.
Schackenborg is the family's second home, and therefore Prince Joachim and Princess Marie often visit the castle with their children. Schackenborg is the whole family's refuge, and the family has many friends here. Prince Joachim's four children, like their father, have a close bond with Schackenborg, and the eldest already know every nook and cranny and all the stories about Schackenborg.
The children's birth trees
In Schackenborg's garden, there are four very special and beautiful trees that Prince Joachim has had planted on each of his four children's birthdays. Since the prince is not the master of exactly when a child is born, he has therefore chosen both the tree and its location well in advance of each birth, so that everything was clear when the day came.
Each child has their own tree.
Prince Nikolai's tree is a blood beech that was planted on August 28, 1999.
When Prince Felix was born on 22 July 2002, a beautiful tulip tree was planted.
Seven years later – 4 May 2009 – he planted an acacia tree when Prince Henrik was born.
The last tree in the garden was put in the ground on 24 January 2012. It is Princess Athena's Canadian salary, which from mid-September every year stands in bright red colors in Schackenborg's garden.
Last minute seasonal stay
Book a stay from January 15th to February 28th. We will give you a guided historical tour of Schackenborg Castle.
Stay for 2 people DKK 1,895.